“My message is pretty simple: The speed limit is set, stick to the speed limit, drive according to the conditions, ensure your own safety and the safety of other people in the general area.

“We’ve reviewed our circumstances, we’ve looked at the (tolerance) level that we were at previously. The Commissioner has spoken a number of times about wanting to see speeds reduced,” he said.

"We do have some adjustment tolerance, but we won’t be publicising that.”

Mr Kelly’s comments coincide with the return of Queensland students to schools this week.

“I would encourage anyone in a school zone, moving near a school zone to be very conscious of the environment they’re in and to act in a way that ensures their safety and the safety of people in and around that speed area.”

He said there were a number of measures that could be taken to ensure safe driving practices in the vicinity of schools.

“At various times throughout this year, we expect to see a program called the Pilot Program, where at various stages of the school year, in specific locations, we would anticipate that we will have police vehicles moving through the speed zones showing people what the speed limits are.

“That might be happening in some areas today, but it’s going to be a more coordinated program throughout the year,” he said.

Earlier, The Courier-Mail reported the speed at which motorists can travel over the limit before triggering the flash of a camera will be reduced in 40, 50 and 70km/h zones - the third such reduction since July.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Mike Keating from the Road Policing Command said further reductions were planned for coming months.

"We've always spoken about a staged level of adjustment with the compliance program to a level we would settle at," he said.

"We haven't reached the program's conclusion. This won't be the final tolerance adjustment."

It was too soon to say if the tolerance reductions were changing motorists' behaviour, but the signs were encouraging, Mr Keating said.

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"The road toll in the second half of last year was much lower than the second half of the previous year but it's too early to draw conclusions from that," he said.

"We have seen five deaths due to serious traffic crashes in the last few days and investigations are underway into what role intoxication or excessive speed may have played in those."

Inspector Allan Hales said the margins were being further tightened as "part of the Commissioner's plan to reduce road trauma".

"Part of that is targeting incidents of road crashes from inappropriate speed, and obviously the research and evidence is if you reduce vehicle speeds, you reduce the severity and frequency of the crashes," Insp Hales said. "One of the other key messages that sometimes gets overlooked is if people are travelling at an appropriate speed, drivers have more chance to react to an event that could result in a serious crash."

He said reaction times were particularly important in 40km/h school zones where children could behave unpredictably.

"We're obviously targeting 40km/h zones because of the vulnerability of children, and the high detection rates in those areas," Insp Hales said. "Our research has found there are 35 detections an hour in school zones which is way above those in other speed limit areas."

Police were also concerned about the lack of awareness of the 50km/h urban default speed limit. Insp Hales said fines were often challenged because motorists believed the default limit was still 60km/h.

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